Cartel Roasters - ETHIOPIA TIBEBU ALETO SIDAMO NATURAL - Filter roast

Tibebu Aleto cultivates coffee in Sidama Bensa, Sidamo. He inherited 1 hectare in the 1990s and expanded his farm by purchasing an additional 3 hectares. He grows two JARC varieties that have been created to thrive in Ethiopia’s climatic conditions.

Tibebu uses sustainable agroforestry practices to cultivate coffee. His farm is organic-by-default. In addition to coffee, he also grows false banana (enset), fruit trees and legumes. Fruit and timber trees provide shade for growing coffee and legumes fix nitrogen, a vital nutrient for growing all plants.

Tibebu selectively handpicks ripe, red cherry and processes it on his farm. He lays cherry on raised beds to sun dry and rakes cherry frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 2 to 3 weeks for cherry to dry. Once dry, he bags cherry and stores it in a warehouse on the farm for about 5 months before it’s transported to the dry mill for processing.